Ignorance
by Nixi Stasia
Summary: Rani decides to stop helping save the world, seen as it's been messing with her social life, school work and sleep. The others are all completely confused, as to why Rani's blanked them out of her life, without even a goodbye. Will Rani's mind be changed when a tragic event happens to one of the other members of the gang?
1. Part 1

**AN: OK, so yeah, I have like twenty stories to work on. This is just a one-shot though. It's probably OOC for Rani, but I'm sure most people would have these thoughts if they had her life. **

**A pointless one, that's been beating me up for what seems like forever. **

**Enjoy!**

Ignorance

_Rani's POV_

Things were getting out of hand. Seriously out of hand. My grades were dropping, I was tired all the time and my social life was practically non-existent. And the source? Alien hunting, of course. It had been fun at first. The adrenaline, the feeling of triumph when we would save the world, the chasing, I loved every second of it. Now, I couldn't stand any of it. After a while, I noticed that it was so much pressure and it was stressing me out. I started to yell all the time, even when the smallest thing happened.

I'd had enough. I was running out of time to do homework, see other friends, do fun hobbies and do all the vital things, like eat and sleep. I couldn't do it anymore. It was getting in the way of my life I wasn't me anymore. Everyone was beginning to notice. Mum and Dad were even speaking about taking me to see someone! I had gotten fed up with it, a teenager like me, needs time to herself and since I'd started to help Sarah Jane, I hadn't gotten any.

Nothing like this was happening to Clyde or Luke, so I assumed that it was me. I wasn't the right person to help them, after all, all of them except me had done something alone to save the world. I never had, there was no point in me hanging around with them. I was just the sad, follower like there is in every gang.

I decided to stop seeing them altogether. I wouldn't answer their calls or texts, I wouldn't sit next to Clyde or Luke at lunch. I'd blank them out of my life; it'd be easier that way. I wouldn't explain myself. After all, I doubt they'll even notice! I wouldn't say goodbye, I'd just cut them off. It sounded harsh, but it seemed like the best thing to do. Maybe it wouldn't hurt them to say goodbye, but it would certainly hurt me; though I was certain I wanted to stop alien hunting, it would be hard to say goodbye to such good friends.

I grabbed my phone, which was sitting on the top of my drawers, and blocked and deleted their numbers. I'd have no way of contacting them and they'd have no way of contacting me. If they came to me face-to-face, I'd just ignore them. It was the only option.

The next day at school, I didn't sit next to Luke and Clyde in registration and on the way to my first lesson, Maths, I walked quickly so they wouldn't catch up with me. They didn't always have the same lessons as me, and Wednesday mornings I was pretty sure they had Science, which was the opposite direction to my class, anyway. That didn't mean they couldn't ditch the first minute to try and talk with me though (well, Luke wouldn't, Clyde would). Then again, they might not have picked up that I'm ignoring them.

At break, I didn't see them at all. I stayed with a group of girls, which was a good change. Spending all your life with two teenage boys and a middle-aged woman really isn't good for you, if you're a teenage girl. Either they couldn't find me, figured I was in a detention (being the head teachers daughter doesn't immunise you from detentions) or didn't bother to find me.

Lunch, was a different matter.

All three of us had art before lunch, so it was pretty hard to stay away from them when class ended. I even tried acting up to get a detention during lunch to get away from them; it didn't work, I guess I'm not 'bad'. As I left the classroom, headed for the dining hall, Clyde and Luke caught up with me.

"Hey, Rani! I haven't seen you all day, what's up?" Clyde asked, sounding like he was on some type of sugar high. His charisma would be one of the things I'd miss the most.

"Hi," I said, flatly.

Luke gave me an odd look, then exchanged glances with Clyde. Clyde shrugged. I looked forward and kept a straight face.

"What's wrong Rani?" Luke asked.

"Nothing," I replied, as emotionless as my poker face.

"Are you sure?" Clyde pushed.

"Sure," I assured.

Then walked off, into the girls toilets. A sad place to hang out, but if it meant staying away from them, it's what I'd do. It hurt me off course, I didn't want to not hang around with them, but it was for the best. If I stopped hunting aliens, but still hung out with them at school... Then I'd just be the pathetic follower, which I'd felt I had been, for a very long time, anyway.

_Clyde's POV_

Luke and me stepped up into the attic and found Sarah Jane at her laptop typing- as usual. She looked up at us, took off her glasses and stood up. She gave me a strange look, probably because my t-shirt was covered in mud.

"Do I even want to ask?" Sarah Jane asked.

"Well, that depends. Would you like me to tell you a ten second long story involving a dog and a baseball bat?" I queried.

"Cricket bat," Luke corrected.

"What's the difference?" I asked.

"One's for cricket, one's for baseball," Luke explained, sitting down on the orange sofa.

Sarah Jane chuckled, either forgetting or not bothering to ask about the dog and the baseball bat.

"Anyway, where's Rani?" Sarah Jane asked.

"We don't know, but she's been acting funny all day," I explained.

Luke nodded in agreement.

"What do you mean?" Sarah Jane asked.

"Well, she didn't sit with us at registration, meet us up at break and at lunch, we saw her walking down the corridor and she was all... I don't know, how to describe it, but she acted like she didn't want to talk," Luke explained.

"Yeah, and she went of to the toilets and we waited for her, but she didn't come out," I added.

"Really?" Sarah Jane asked, he eye brows raised," Maybe she wasn't feeling well."

"No, she looked fine," Luke contradicted.

"Maybe we've done something to offend her," Sarah Jane suggested.

"Like what?" I asked.

Sarah Jane shrugged, "I honestly have no idea."

"What are we going to do then?" I asked.

"Why don't you just ring her and see what's wrong," Luke said," She ignored us the whole day, so maybe she'll answer us on phone?"

"Worth a try," Sarah Jane muttered, pulling out her mobile from the pocket of her jeans and calling Rani. She held it to her ear for a while, before closing it and putting it back in her pocket," No answer," Sarah Jane announced.

_Rani's POV_

I lay on my front, on my bed, reading 'Lord of the Flies' for an English assessment next week. I was far behind on homework and even though I didn't want to do it, it felt good to know I had the time and didn't have to worry about thinking up an excuse for not doing it. My mobile began to vibrate (it was still on silence from school) and I looked at it. Sarah Jane was calling. Without hesitation, I pressed the red 'hang-up' button, turned my phone off and then threw it across the room.

I froze.

Why had I just done that? The phone was already off, I was resisting the temptation to call. Why had I thrown it across the room?

Quickly, I ran over to the other side of the room and picked up the phone. It wasn't broken; the edge had chipped, but that was all.

For the next few days, I managed to stay out of Clyde, Luke and Sarah Jane's way. I never left the house unless it was necessary, I only answered my mobile if I knew it wasn't any of the people I was trying to avoid and at school, I found some other girls to hang out with and come on! If the guys haven't gotten the message yet, then they seriously need to get their heads out of that hole!

Everything was going well, until day ten.

Mum and Dad were out, so I was home alone. I was watching the soaps on the TV, when there was a knock at the door. I was about to open it, until I walked past the kitchen window, on the way to the door, and saw Clyde.

_Crap, _I thought, as I walked away and back to the living room, _No, it's okay. Just pretend you're not in._

"Rani! I know you're in there!" Clyde shouted form outside,"Rani, open the damn door!"

_You're not in, you're not in._

"Rani!" Clyde yelled again," Fine, don't open the door, but at least listen to me!"

Reluctantly, I put the TV on mute.

"What the hell is up with you, Rani?" Clyde asked," Why all of a sudden is it like you don't know us?! What've we done to you? Have we upset you? 'Coz we have no bloody idea! Look Rani, if you don't want to hang around with you, then fine just..."

His voice had gone quieter, he was still shouting, but he wasn't angry. He sounded more fed up and desperate.

"Look, Rani," Clyde sighed," Just please, come back. We all miss you. Luke misses you, Sarah Jane misses you, Mr. Smith and K-9 miss you... For god sake Rani, I miss you."

Tears began falling from my eyes.

"Nothing's the same without you, Rani, everything... It's just fallen apart since you left... We need you back, Rani. _I need you back," _Clyde said.

Everything was silent for a few seconds. And I thought. Clyde wanted me back, they all did. I'd never expected that they would miss me... I was just a follower wasn't I? There's a sad, pathetic follower in every group and in that group, it was me. I was tempted to go back, but no... I couldn't. My life had improved so much since I had stopped hunting Aliens. Now, I was getting enough sleep, able to see friends and my grades were nearly back up to what they were supposed to be.

I wanted to get up, I did. I just didn't.

"Rani!" Clyde shouted, angry again," Just open the fucking door!"

I didn't. I stayed curled up on the sofa, clutching onto the cushion.

"Fine, fine, ignore me. Just never speak to me again!" Clyde forbid.

Tears began to flow faster, I felt like I should regret not answering the door, but I didn't. I shouldn't, I had to get on with a normal life. And the others had to adjust to not having me around, they'd find someone to replace me, like I was used to replace Maria.

I jumped, when I heard a strong, sharp, screech and a muffled shout of 'Look out!'

Quickly, I darted to the window and looked around to see what had happened.

There was a car.

There was blood.

There was Clyde.

Clyde was lying in a puddle of his own blood, as still as a corpse.

_To Be Continued_

**AN: Will try and update soon! Was going to be a one shot, but it was too much, so it will be done in two parts!**

**R&R!**

**If you have time, please check out my other fanfictions, I write for Doctor Who, Twilight, Big Bang Theory and Professor Layton.**

**Onika =) X**


	2. Part 2

**AN: The final chapter! Enjoy! Oh, and I don't own SJA, all credit goes to the BBC. (I have a tendency to forget disclaimers!) Oh, and I changed my pen name, sorry for any confusion.  
**

Part Two

_Rani's POV_

"Clyde!" I screamed and ran over to his limp, lifeless body, that lay in the road.

I collapsed in a heap beside him, not caring about my own wellbeing, and gazed down at him. His eyes were closed, but I could tell he'd been crying just before the car had hit him; his face wasn't only wet with blood. My own tears fell from my eyes as I prayed for him to wake up. He wasn't moving or showing any other signs of life.

Sharply, I turned around as I heard a slam from the car that had hit Clyde. A man got out, he looked as if he was in his early thirties. He was perfectly capable of walking in a straight line, so he wasn't full of alcohol... What? Why the hell was I looking for excuses? This man could have killed Clyde!

No. No, I couldn't think like that either. Clyde would be fine. He had to be! That couldn't have been his last moments, he still had so much to do. And he was so angry... Angry at me. No, he had to be fine. I had to apologise! Tell him that I was sorry, tell him I'd never ignore him again. I hadn't even told him how strong my feelings for him were!

"Oh my god," the driver muttered," Was... Was that your friend?"

"You... you bastard!" I cried, thinking up any other names I could," How could you?!"

"I'm so sorry, miss," the man apologised, he did sound guilty, but I didn't have time to pity _him_," He just stepped out of nowhere and..."

"Shut the fuck up!" I yelled, looking back down at Clyde's body," Clyde please, please, wake up. Please."

I sobbed some more before turning around to the man and demanding for him to call an ambulance.

"Rani! Clyde!" A voice called out from behind the car.

I looked up and saw Sarah Jane and Luke running towards me. It had been so long since I'd seen Sarah Jane, I'd panicked about seeing her when I went to the corner shop, but now I was so relieved to see her. They ran over to Clyde's unconscious body and crouched down beside him. Sarah Jane went over to me and pulled me into her embrace. I clung onto her like a baby and sobbed.

"Jesus christ, what happened?" Luke asked.

"He... Clyde... he came to me... I didn't... didn't open the... the door," I stuttered, trying to speak through the tears.

"It's ok, it's ok," Sarah Jane soothed me; it didn't work.

"He just ran out into the road. I'm sorry, I couldn't stop in time..." the man apologised.

"Just shut up!" Sarah Jane demanded," Oh god, just someone call an ambulance!"

The driver nodded reluctantly and took his mobile out of his pocket and dialled 999. Luke sat by Clyde's body, in disbelief. He looked shaky and in disbelief. Sarah Jane, struggled to keep her tears back; I could tell she was trying to keep strong for Luke and me. She felt like she had to take charge and tell us that Clyde would be okay. I didn't know what to do, dry my tears and sooth Sarah Jane, or let her carry on soothing me? I didn't put any of my actions into thoughts, and just curled up against Sarah Jane and cried into her- when I looked up, I even saw a big puddle of my salty tears to have soaked into her jacket.

By the time the ambulance had come, I was still curled up against Sarah Jane. My tears had stopped, but I was trembling uncontrollably. Both of them kept telling me things would be okay and that Clyde would be fine. I didn't reply; I couldn't. If Clyde died- or if he was already dead- it would be my fault. If I'd have opened the door, when I should have, Clyde wouldn't be in this state, he'd be completely unharmed. It was all my fault.

The paramedics loaded Clyde's body into the back of the ambulance. I couldn't bear to watch, I still couldn't believe what had just happened. I was praying that I would wake up and it would all be a dream.

"You alright, love?" a paramedic asked me, crouching beside me.

"It... it was all my fault," I murmured.

"It wasn't, Rani," Sarah Jane told me, calmly- though her voice sounded choked. Her grip on me tightened and I clasped her shoulders more.

"Can we come with him?" Luke asked the paramedic.

"One of you can," the paramedic replied," The other one of you should stay with the girl and make sure she's okay; she's suffering from trauma and shock."

Normally, it would bother me that someone would speak about me, right in front of me, but I didn't have the energy to object.

"Luke, go with Clyde. When you get to the hospital, call Carla," Sarah Jane instructed.

"Sure, Mum," Luke promised.

Sarah Jane stood up; pulling me up with her. The sirens cried aloud and the ambulance flew off don the road. Sarah Jane and me rushed to her blue mini and got in. I leant against the window, still shaking. The engine vroomed and we left Bannerman Road for the hospital.

"It's all my fault," I said, once we had left the street.

"It isn't, Rani," Sarah Jane replied. Strangely, she didn't sound supportive or comforting, but rather angry. I immediately felt even worse. Even Sarah Jane thought it was my fault. It _was _my fault.

We got to the hospital and went to the main reception. The receptionist told us that Clyde was in the Intensive Care Unit; I broke down even more. Clyde was going to die... and it was all my fault. We went to the waiting room and found Luke. He said he'd called Carla and that she was on her way. We all sat down and waited, anxiously.

The waiting room was big, plain white and filled with chairs. Not wanting to upset anyone, I sat as far away from them, as I could. The room was silent, until Carla burst in.

"What the hell happened?!" Carla demanded to know, tears streaming down her face.

Sarah Jane and Luke stood up; I remained in my seat, oblivious to my surroundings.

"Carla," Sarah Jane addressed," There was an accident, I'm... I'm so sorry."

Carla shook her head and sat on the plastic chair beside Sarah Jane.

"I'm sorry, too. I didn't mean to shout, I'm just..." Carla muttered.

"Yeah, we know what you mean," Sarah Jane gave Clyde's Mother a sympathetic smile.

Then again, the room fell into silence. I still hadn't moved.

After twenty minutes or so (I wasn't paying attention to time, so it could have been twenty hours, for all I knew), a nurse came in and called for Clyde's Mother. She said that she, and she only, could see Clyde. Carla left with a promise that she'd report back to us when she could. I felt a pang of jealousy when Carla left to see Clyde. All I wanted to do was see him and apologise for what I'd done to him.

"Luke, go and get some drinks please," Sarah Jane told Luke.

Obediently, he left the room for the hospital café. Once the door was shut and Luke was gone, Sarah Jane stood up and too the seat next to me. I didn't react.

"Rani, is there anything you want to tell me?" Sarah Jane asked.

Still, I didn't react.

"Why have you been ignoring us?" Sarah Jane tried.

"Because," I replied," Because, I don't want to help fight aliens anymore."

"I see. Do you mind if I ask why? There are of course lots of reasons, as to why someone wouldn't want to, but would you mind giving me your exact reasons?"

"I was tired all the time, my grades were the equivalent to a year eight student's work and I... I felt like I didn't belong," I explained. I expected tears to form in my eyes, but they didn't. I had dried out.

"Why didn't you feel like you belonged?"

"You're the leader, Luke's the smart one, Clyde's the joker. Then who am I?"

"You're Rani. Rani Chandra," Sarah Jane explained," You don't have to be anyone special, Rani. But you are someone special. So, please, if you don't want to help us do what we do, then don't, but please say. Rani you've saved the world before and the group isn't complete without you. But still, u like me, you have a choice. You can help us, or you can't. But whatever you choose, please, let's still be friends. I'll help you with your journalist work, hang out with Clyde and Luke at school. We're all your friends, Rani. We always will be."

I smiled.

"You didn't think you'd get rid of us that easily did you?" Sarah Jane asked, grinning.

"Well, whatever I choose, it doesn't matter right now," I pointed out," What matters, is Clyde."

"He'll be fine," Sarah Jane promised," Oh, and don't you dare say it's your fault, because if you do, the next thing that will happen to you, will be entirely my fault."

I laughed. I felt bad laughing, when the joker of the group was in ICU, but I couldn't help it.

Sarah Jane would always be my best friend. She was always there, as was Luke and Clyde. I didn't even have to look, they'd never leave.

The door opened and Carla walked in looking happy. She was still crying, but I knew Clyde was fine.

"He's awake. He's fine," Carla announced," He wants to see you, Rani."

Desperate to see him, I left Sarah Jane and followed Carla out of the ICU and into another ward. A nurse pulled back some curtains and Carla pulled me in. Clyde lay on the bed, attached to less monitors than I had expected. He had a bandage on his head and his arm in a sling, but that was it.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it," Carla said, then left.

"Rani?" Clyde asked, his voice was quieter than a whisper, but I could hear him.

"I'm here, Clyde," I replied," I'm here."

**AN: I hope you enjoyed it! R&R! =) **

**Anastasia =) X**


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